Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Ithas played host to a pope and is the
workplace of prostitutes. Colfax Avenue is a 26.8-mile stretch of salvation and
sin, depression and revival, past and present. It is a concrete vein that pumps
life into three cities. While names and faces have changed since Colfax first
showed up on maps 150 years ago as a six-block street across from the
yet-to-be-imagined Capitol building, the avenue has been a living example of
Colorado's past, present and future. People live and die on the avenue, create
poetry and speak hate, get drunk and find sobriety, prey on others and pray for
themselves. The spectrum of life envelops the avenue, gives it an essence like
no other in the state.

So that being said, here's 107 things to do on the
greatest street in the world!

1. See
a concert at the Fillmore Auditorium.2. Eat
a Sugar Steak at Bastiens.3. Buy
legal weed.4. Get
a stiff drink and listen to the Grateful Dead at Sancho's Broken Arrow.5. Give
a homeless guy a dollar, your extra taco or pocket shot of Fireball.6. See
a Dub Step show at the Ogden Theatre. The walls literally
shake!7. Go
through Black Barts Cave at Casa Bonita. (eat somewhere else
before you go...LOL) 8.
Get a Voodoo Doughnut at 2am. 9. Run
the Colfax Marathon.10.
Go Skiing at Winter Park/ Mary Jane. (yes, Colfax is Highway
40!) 11. Rent
a bike.12. Steal
someone's "Car to Go".13. Pick
up a piece of trash.14. Eat
2 chili dogs at Steve's Snappin' Dogs.15.
Go to a festival in Civic Center Park.16. Barf.17. Get
your car towed.18. Eat
at Pete's Kitchen between 2-4am.19. Lose
a shoe.20. Eat
tacos and drink Tecate in a can at Mezcal.21. Take
a free tour of the Colorado State Capitol building.22. Go
to the Tattered Cover.23. Use
the drive-thru at Scooter Liquors.24. Hug
a bar tender at Blush & Blu.25. Eat
Sheppard's Pie and drink Guinness at the Irish Snug.26. Make
an illegal U-Turn.27. People
watch.28. Get
the "Mass Confusion" at the Denver Diner the morning after a drunken
night.29. Get
caught on camera.30.Trip
on the broken side walk.31. Hang
out at the LostLake Lounge on a Saturday night.32. Check
out some sweet graffiti.33. Try
and find a hotel without bed bugs.34. Walk
in the Gay Pride Parade.35.
Grab a shot and a beer at the Satire Lounge.36. Get
a Tattoo.37. Check
out all the old school neon signs on bars and hotels.38. Play
Old School video games at the "1UP".39. Go
to a Denver Broncos game. (play-off game
would be best!)40.
Sweat your ass of at a punk show at the LionsLair.41.
Buy a vinyl record at Angelo's CD's.42. Visit
a friend in jail at Denver County.43. Go
to the Fetish Ball at the Diamond Cabaret.44. Look
both ways before you cross it.45. Spend
20 minutes at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and get forgiven before you finish this list.46. Kick
back for an hour with a premium cigar at Capitol Cigars.47. Take
a tour at the Denver Mint.48. Eat
a Tijuana Dog at Billy's Gourmet Hot Dog's.49. Go
to all 20 7-11's on Colfax and still not find a Slurpee machine that works.50. Grab
some totally used gear from the ARC.51. Two
words: Mon Chalet.52. Get
an over-priced Burger at City Grille.53. Do
Laundry at Smiley’s.54. Check
out the oldest McDonald's in the state at Colfax & Kingston.55. Eat
fried chicken for breakfast at the Denver Biscuit Company.56.
Grab flowers from Country Club Flowers…best way to
apologize for all your Colfax Shenanigans.57. Coffee
at Hooked on Colfax.58. When
you’re at the Bluebird Theater, tell someone that it
used to be a XXX movie theater.59. Burritos
at Emilio’s.60.
Buy 24K gold rolling papers at Freaky’s.61. Fried
chicken, Collard Greens & Banana pudding at Kirk’s Soul Kitchen.62. Buy
some lights and soil at Grofax and grow your own weed at home!63.
Get the Paella at Solera.64. Go
to a happy hour party on the roof top of the GLBT building.65. Go
to a “Miss Colfax” competition.66. See
a car accident.67. Get
a classic feel for Colfax, Order the Buckaroo at Davies' Chuck Wagon Diner.68. Enjoy
some Nob, Nob Hill Inn that is…one of the most infamous dive bars on the strip.69. Close
the night out at Kinga’s Lounge.70. Get
two caffeinated cups at the Hot Chick A Latte.71. See
what an $18 glass of beer taste like at the Cheeky Monk.72. Get
in a Soccer Hooligan fight at Streets of London Pub.73. See
an indie flick at the SIE Film Center.74. Order
the Beer of the Month at the Abbey Tavern.75. Buy
a Longboard at 303 Boards.76. Shoot
a belt fed machine gun at Machine GunTours.77. Enjoy
a barrel fire under Colfax and I-25.78. Sleep
with the pigeons at Civic Center Park.79. Eat
a Calzone from D.P. Dough at 3am.80. Get
a Mohawk at the Bad Kittie Salon.81. Play
BINGO at the Goosetown Tavern.82. Party
where the Rock Bar used to be.83. Get
your dog a bone at Green Buddies.84. Catch
a fish in the Platte River and sell it for beer money.85. Get
a cowboy hat from Corral Western Wear and 2pac shirt
from GENX.86. Puff
some Hookah at Pita Grill and Hookah. (slip them a Lincoln and you’ll get
booze)87. Show
your pride at Charlie’s.88. Hug
a MANnequin at the Xbar.89. Find
everything you need to make bad decisions at Capital Hill Market.90. Bootleg
at Prohibition.91.
Hit rock bottom.92. Freestyle
Rap Battle at the bus stop near Park Ave.93.
Laugh at everything but the comedy at Squire Lounge.94. Learn
the Craft at Herbs & Art.95. Punch
someone in the face at Edge Boxing.96. Practice
your second amendment rights at Scottie’s Guns.97. Straight
out of Compton… Mart.98. Motel
9…They won’t keep the lights on.99. Check
out a performance at the Aurora Fox Theatre & VintageTheatre.100. Have
a sicknic at General’s Park.101. Take
a canoe up Toll Gate Creek.102. Get
your towed car back from M&M Impounding.103. Buy
a sack full of root vegetables from Marczyk Fine Foods.104. Pass
out on the 18th hole of Springhill Golf Course.105. Ride
the Alpine Slide at Heritage Square.106.
Grab a coffee and contemplate life at Cafe Max. 107. Steal
the “Colfax” street sign and hang it in your garage (if you did all 106
things…you deserve it!)

Monday, November 23, 2015

Super Freak Rick James suffered a neck aneurysm at the Mammoth Events Center (now the Fillmore Auditorium at Colfax Avenue and Clarkson Street) on November 6, 1998, after too many super-freaky tosses of his head. Doctors diagnosed him with "rock 'n' roll neck". The aneurysm caused a blood clot that went to his brain, causing a stroke a week later.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

October 25, 1906 - This photo was taken near Colfax & Ulster St, (not too far east of
Quebec St), right after a major snow storm. The house to the left in
the background is 1455 Quince St., (right next door to the new Quince
Essential Coffee House).

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Here's a photo of the Montclair neighborhood, from the early 1900s. The
land was originally barren and had few trees, which provided each home
with an amazing view of the front range.

Montclair was once it's own town and one of Denver's earliest streetcar
suburbs. The extensive streetcar network that existed throughout Denver
at that time, allowed many people the option to live outside the hustle
and bustle of downtown.

Monday, November 16, 2015

"During
the boom years of the 1940s and 1950s along the business barometer of
East Colfax, where the Baron von Richthofen once planted his Elms,
change was most evident. The elm trees were cut down and the concrete
corridor was fattened.

Many of the substantial old homes that
once made East Colfax a fashionable residential district had undergone
ingenious transformation, reappearing as shops selling
everything from tropical fish to false teeth, from books to caskets.
Above all, Colfax became an ode to the automobile, a gasoline alley of
service stations and car lots.

Such signs of "progress" on East
Colfax and the general pattern of urban blight and suburban flight
greatly troubled Montclair in the 1960s. During the 1960s the crime,
welfare, unemployment, and overcrowding rates all rose." (Noel, 1976)

Sunday, November 15, 2015

1920-1930s:
Photograph of a stuntman hanging on to the wing of a biplane, as it
soars over the Montclair and Park Hill neighborhoods. The street that
cuts left to right (near the middle of the photo) is Colfax Avenue. The campus
of the Colorado Women's College (now Johnson & Wales University),
can be seen at the far left.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

The parade along Colfax Avenue and around Civic Center park begins at
10 a.m. and will feature segments that represent the major conflicts in
US military history, including the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World
War I, World War II, and more recent conflicts.

Thousands of local veterans will be participating in Denver's Veterans Day Parade on Sunday morning.

The first parade was held in 2000 and saw only a small handful of participants.

One
veteran at the event said he enjoys going to the parade because it
makes him proud be a veteran. The awards recognize individuals who
devote time and energy to improving the lives of Washington's veterans.
"We have a lot of veterans in our group and a lot of other groups that
have a lot of veterans within their group".

Just prior to the parade, there will be a Remembrance Ceremony at the Colorado Veteran Monument at Civic Center Park.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

"Growing up, my friends and I all called Colfax Avenue 'Mos Eisley' because you will
never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Try not to touch
anything on the number 15 bus!” - sent in by Joshua Harris

Monday, November 2, 2015

Saurer freighter truck in front of the Capitol Building, first truck
to travel across the entire U.S. They started here in Denver, March 3,
1911, traveled to San Francisco, traveled by train back to Denver and
then drove onto New York. (courtesy The Denver Eye)